I wonder what I was doing 9 years ago today?

Sometimes I think to myself, "I wonder what I was doing 9 years ago today?"

And, when I think that, I get out my old college journal and find out.

So, here's the entry from 7/20/2001. It's about me and Rob at the coffee shop. To the left, you'll see a picture of me and Rob at the coffee shop. Though, in the interest of full disclosure, you should know that it's from 2002 and therefore not 100% authentic. The beard gives it away.

I used to name the entries as a way of keeping myself interested in writing them. For some reason I named this one, "Skeleton Song." I think I was being pretentious. Me being pretentious also explains the rest of it.

Okay, here goes:

Skeleton Song -- 7/20/2001

So, here I am bankrupt on the inside again.

I went to Powell's today, the biggest book store in the country or maybe even the world. Not sure about the status. Just know it is famous and happens to be in Portland and is about the size of a city block and something like four or five stories worth of books.

I got "Crime and Punishment" because it is about time I read it, and I got a book of poetry by one of my professors. I've been meaning to buy it for a long time, but never had the money.

Today my dad was buying. I was afraid he invited me to Powell's merely as an excuse to get me alone and then talk to me about something important, but it didn't happen. Just a nice little trip.

There's this bakery a couple blocks from Powell's and they have these really good pistolets, which I guess are just rolls, but they taste all European. They remind me of Europe. Such a nice little bakery.

I went down town and read earlier today with Rob. We like to sit there at the coffee shop and read. Something happened to me that's never happened before. Someone literally made fun of us for reading. It's not often these days, being out of junior high and all, that a complete stranger will just up and make fun of me out of nowhere. And for reading?

I looked over at Rob today and said, "I think I'll just up and leave for school tomorrow."

"You hate it here?" he asked.

I thought for a moment.

"Yeah," I said.

"Why?" he asked.

I thought for another moment and this is what I came up with:

"Everyone here is mad all the time."

He thought for a moment.

"True," he said.

And for a little while I felt all right because someone else had noticed the same thing I did.